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May 16, 2019

A happy, healthy ending

By Peter Brown

Angie Stinson loves her Charlotte home and the quiet neighborhood that she lives in. She and her neighbors on the block, many of whom have lived here for over 15 years, tend to look out for each other. Other than the “two troublesome trees” in her back yard, Angie is happy and content.

That wasn’t the case about a year ago, when issues – some serious – began to appear in Angie’s home. As a single, retired homeowner, it was simply beyond her ability, both physically and financially, to repair the problems. While struggling with the thought of having to move out of a home and neighborhood that she’d lived in for over a decade, Angie heard about Habitat Charlotte’s Critical Home Repair (CHR) program through her uncle Hezekiah, a former recipient of CHR services. Angie’s prospects seemed promising. So she rolled up her sleeves and started her research to learn more about CHR.

Angie first learned of Habitat’s application process and worked with Donna on Habitat’s Family Services team to submit her application. She took care to provide the required checklist documents, which included bank statements and utility bills. According to Donna, Angie was very responsive and emailed everything requested in a prompt manner. And when she learned that she’d been pre-approved for CHR services, Angie was overwhelmed – she couldn’t believe that her home’s problems were going to be fixed.

Angie really appreciates her repaired kitchen…especially now that she can use the sink!

A quiet, peaceful and tight-knit Charlotte neighborhood.

Now that Angie was pre-approved, she then partnered with Isela in Habitat Charlotte’s Family Support group to go over her finances and her home’s needs in more detail. This included an in-depth review of Angie’s finances to determine the amount that she would have to contribute towards the repairs personally. Habitat reviews every applicant’s financial situation, using income and other financial factors to determine if a partial repayment for CHR services is required. In certain cases, homeowners must repay a portion of the amount needed to repair their homes, but always with an affordable payment plan. Fortunately, in Angie’s case, Isela informed Angie that repayment was not required…and she was ecstatic.

Next Angie met with Ashley, her construction supervisor, to review her home’s problems in person, and work with the Habitat construction team and our subcontractors to assess the repairs her home needed. Once the construction scope containing all aspects of the repairs was finalized, Angie signed her CHR contract, and work started shortly afterward.

In total, it took over 10 months, including 4 weeks of actual construction, from the time Angie first contacted Habitat Charlotte until all repairs were completed. We performed electrical, structural and plumbing repairs to eradicate all issues. Even though she had to move out for a few weeks while the team fixed her bathrooms, Angie is happy to be back in her home and relieved that she can continue living here, in a home and neighborhood that she loves. Now if she could only do something about those trees…

Habitat Charlotte’s Critical Home Repair program plays an essential role in helping low-income and vulnerable homeowners affordably repair their homes, allowing them to continue living in their homes in safety and security. Broader benefits from the program include lower health care costs due to the elimination of health and safety hazards, plus the ability for older people to age in their own homes instead of high cost managed care facilities. In addition, the process of repairing older homes allows Habitat Charlotte to help maintain the supply of naturally occurring affordable homes in Charlotte – if left unrepaired many of these homes would be targeted for condemnation.

You can help. Explore the links below to learn more about our CHR program, or to donate or volunteer in support of Habitat’s vision to provide everyone with a decent place to live.

critical home repair

donate

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Angie and the “two troublesome trees.”

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